1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ditch diggers and more specifically it relates to a ditch digging and cleaning system having dual dispersing members for easily digging ditches, cleaning ditches, and creating terraces with reduced power take-off (PTO) power.
Farmers often times desire to dig ditches for draining water from fields thereby increasing the usability of the land. In addition, farmers often times desire to construct terraces on uneven land. Hence, it is desirable to have a single machine that both digs ditches and creates terraces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ditch digging devices have been in use for years. Typically, a rotary blade member is utilized that has a rotational plane parallel to a vertical axis. The lower edge of a rotary blade engages, cuts and throws the dirt creating a curved ditch structure.
Conventional ditch diggers require significant PTO power to the PTO shaft since the rotary blade is initially engaging, cutting and throwing the dirt. In addition, conventional ditch diggers merely cutout a curved ditch that easily fills in with dirt and debris over time requiring constant cleaning. Also, a curved ditch is incapable of handling as large of volume of water as a flat bottomed ditch of the same width. In additional, the velocity of water flowing through a conventional curved ditch is significantly higher than a flat bottomed ditch of the same width thereby increasing erosion of the land.
Examples of ditch diggers include U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,610 to Liebrecht, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,985 to Sillasen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,761 to Nadeau; U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,826 to Rogers; U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,618 to Croucher; U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,073 to Baker; U.S. Pat. No. 2,885,800 to Hawkins; U.S. Pat. No. 1,175,926 to Bunnell; U.S. Pat. No. 1,095,097 to Fournet; U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,534 to Sackett; U.S. Pat. No. 16,007 to Evans which are all illustrative of such prior art.
Liebrecht, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,610) discloses a rotating disk type ditcher. Liebrecht teaches a frame structure, a PTO power system, and a cutting disk inclined downwardly so that the leading edge cuts into the ground. A plurality of paddles or scoops are positioned on the back side of the disk that throw the soil particles.
Sillasen (U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,985) discloses a rotary whirling ditcher. Sillasen teaches a frame, a drive assembly, and a plurality of rotating blades.
Nadeau (U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,761) discloses a rotary ditcher having ripper blades. Nadeau teaches a flywheel type rotor carrying impeller blades that pickup and throw soil to the side of the rotor, and two ripper blades in front of the rotor that loosen the soil.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for easily digging ditches, cleaning ditches, and creating terraces with reduced power take-off (PTO) power. Conventional machines require extensive PTO power for operating properly which can be extremely demanding upon a tractor vehicle.
In these respects, the ditch digging and cleaning system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of easily digging ditches, cleaning ditches, and creating terraces with reduced power take-off (PTO) power.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of ditch diggers now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new ditch digging and cleaning system construction wherein the same can be utilized for easily digging ditches, cleaning ditches, and creating terraces with reduced power take-off (PTO) power.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new ditch digging and cleaning system that has many of the advantages of the ditch diggers mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new ditch digging and cleaning system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art ditch diggers, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a frame having a hitch and a pair of support arms with wheels, a pair of front blades, a pair of side blades, a pair of dispersing members rotatably attached to the frame, a drive system mechanically connected to the dispersing members, and a pair of deflector structures attached to the rear portion of the frame. The dispersing members are each comprised of a circular base, and a plurality of fan blades orthogonally attached to an upper surface of the circular base. The dispersing members are juxtaposed behind pans attached to the front blades. The dispersing members are also less than 45 degrees with respect to the ground surface. The blades preferably are V-shaped for penetrating hardened soil. Coulters may be added in front of the front blade for loosening the ground or a beater member. In operation, the front blades sever the dirt from the ground surface at a desired depth. The dirt is passed over the pans onto the dispersing members where after the fan blades throw the dirt toward the deflector structures that guide the dirt in the desired location.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a ditch digging and cleaning system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.
Another object is to provide a ditch digging and cleaning system that requires significantly less PTO power than conventional ditch digging devices.
Another object is to provide a ditch digging and cleaning system that utilizes dual dispersing members to remove soil and debris.
An additional object is to provide a ditch digging and cleaning system that can be utilized to dig ditches, clean ditches or create terraces within a field.
A further object is to provide a ditch digging and cleaning system that creates a flat bottomed ditch thereby reducing the velocity of water flow.
Another object is to provide a ditch digging and cleaning system that can be connected to most tractors.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.